Matt’s Perfect Paintball Gun Glossed With Award

A University of Derby student has scooped a national award after designing a unique paintball gun – and he is now working in the industry.

Matt Mahoney, 22, was one of ten winners in the annual Institution of Engineering Designers (IED) degree awards, which recognise the best student designs in the engineering industry.

Matt secured First Class Honours for his degree and, as a result, has managed to secure work as a trainee designer with Planet Eclipse, a paintball industry goods manufacturer in Manchester.

He designed a gun called The Revolve, which features a ‘Revolver’ mechanism, where the loader is built into the main gun frame, and barrels are mounted on the frame which electronically change when a shot is fired.

Matt, from Manchester, said: “I am delighted to have won this award and it was excellent to be selected as a prize winner in a national competition.

“I am a keen paintballer and I conducted research as part of my degree course which helped me produce my final product.”

Matt takes part in regular paintball sessions across the country with his friends and is part of a five-man team called Volatile which takes part in the UK Masters Paintball Competition.

He said: “I first started paintballing when I was 15 and enjoy the strategy and tactics that are involved in the pursuit. I believe my invention could help make this pursuit even more exciting for people who take part.”

Matt says the fact the Revolver-style gun loads itself with cartridges means the gun is less likely to jam, can fire more pellets more quickly and can be more accurate than traditional paintball guns – making the pursuit even faster and more exciting.

The IED, is the UK’s most prestigious professional body for designers operating in the many fields of engineering design including architecture and product design. Its degree awards have been running for more than 10 years. More than 30 of the country’s top students across the UK in this subject area were nominated for this year’s competition (details can be found at www.ied.org.uk ) and, as one of this year’s ten winners, Matt will receive a trophy.

Matt was studying on the BA (Hons) Product Design and Marketing course. He graduates with First Class Honours at our Awards Ceremonies, to be held at the Assembly Rooms in Derby, in January.

Matt’s tutor, Mike Veveris, said: “We are delighted with Matt’s success. His idea has caught the imagination of the judging panel and the fact he is now working in the industry is great news.”

Matt’s firm supplies cutting edge, equipment to the industry and the designs he is working on are secret.

His manager Jack Wood, said: “ As a paintball company at the very forefront of the sport we are always looking to adopt new and innovative design principles that will set us apart from the crowd.

“However, it was not just Matt’s exceptional design concept of the ‘Revolve’ paintball marker that made him ideally suited for a position at Planet Eclipse Ltd.

“It was his all-round breadth of ability in multiple disciplines that set him apart from the competition, making him a valuable asset in a compact design team such as ours. Working within such a rapidly changing market place, it has meant that Matt has already seen some of his work put into production.”